14 Top Tips on Writing Essays

1.

Analyse the title make sure you really understand what it is

asking you to do see table below on instruction words.
2. Read around this is essential. Read the references plus
others to supplement the list. Generate your own ideas from the
reading.
3. Draft introduction what do you aim to do in the essay?e.g.
prove/disprove a theory etc
4. Use subheadings this helps to distinguish sections.
5. Save make sure you save your work on disk or USB stick
just in case your computer crashes.
6. Draft the main bones of the essay you can flesh it out
later.
7. Show draft to someone else it always helps having another
opinion.
8. Check your spelling and grammar.
9. Vary sentence length in general dont use over long
sentences, short sentences can be effective to. Try it.
10. Use paragraphs Huge blocks of writing can be off putting
read.
11. Avoid clichs e.g. very interesting, boils down to, getting
down to it, sort of and many others!
12. Do not use abbreviations In formal work it is not
professional to use abbreviations and slang e.g. dont, Ive,
weve etc.
13. Check your final version read it out loud.
14. Save, file away and submit Make sure you have plenty of
time to print it out and get it in before the deadline.

Instruction words and their definitions

Make sure you understand what the essay title is asking you to do.
The table below should be helpful; its taken from How to write
essays & assignments (McMillan et al., 2007, p 33):

INSTRUCTION WORD

DEFINITION WHAT YOU ARE EXPECTED TO DO

Account [give an]

Describe

Account for

Give reasons for

Analyse

Give an organised answer looking at all aspects

Apply

Put a theory into operation

Assess

Decide on value/ importance

Brief account [give a]

Describe in a concise way

Comment on

Give your opinion

Compare [with]

Discuss similarities; draw conclusions on common areas

Compile

Make up (a list/ plan/ outline)

Consider

Describe/give your views on the subject

Contrast

Discuss differences/ draw own view

Criticise

Point out weak/ strong points, i.e. give a balanced answer

Define

Give the meaning of a term, concisely

Demonstrate

Show by example/ evidence

Describe

Narrative on process/ appearance/ operation/ sequence...

Devise

Make up

Discuss

Give own thoughts and support yor opinion or conclusion

Evaluate

Decide on merit of situation/ argument

Exemplify

Show by giving examples

Expand

Give more information

Explain

Give reason for/ say why

Explain how

Describe how something works

Identify

Pinpoint/ list

Illustrate

Give examples

Indicate

Point out, but not in great detail

Justify

Support the argument for...

List

Make an organised list, e.g. events, components, aspects

Outline

Describe basic factors/ limited information

Plan

Think how to organise something

Report

Give an account of the process or event

Review

Write a report/ give facts and views on facts

Show

Demonstrate with supporting evidence

Specify

Give details of something

State

Give a clear account of...

Summarise

Briefly give an account

Trace

Provide a brief chronology of events/ process

Work out

Find a solution, e.g. as in a maths problem

Scientific essays are challenging to write. While most essays are conversational and persuasive,
a scientific essay is meant to inform. The structure and format of a scientific essay is different from other
types of writing. Knowing these key differences is an important part of writing a well-written essay. Here is
how to write a scientific essay.

Instructions
1.
o

1
Determine the purpose of your essay. Scientific essays can be written with different goals in
mind. Your purpose may be to answer an essay question, explain the findings of a lab
experiment or explore research and experiments conducted by others.

2
Organize your writing with an outline. Scientific essays usually follow a different pattern
than other essays. Sections to include are the title, list of authors, abstract, introduction,
materials and methods, results, discussion and references.

Include in the list of authors the names of everyone who contributed in some way to the
experiments you performed in your research. Also include the names of anyone else who
contributed to the drafting of your report.

Save the writing of your abstract until the end. This is a short summary of about 250 words.

Describe any experiments you conducted in your research in the materials and methods
section of your essay. Do not include findings here.

State the findings of your research in the results section. This is an objective review of what
took place in the experiment. This does not include interpretation.

Give your interpretation of the findings in the next section, the discussion, and
communicate the meaning and significance of what happened in your research.

Include only reputable sources in your references. Your research should consist of academic
and scientific journals. Credible sources are vital to the credibility of your essay.

Tips & Warnings

Use the correct style in your writing. Scientific essays are not written to entertain or
convince; they are purely informative. They are also more straightforward and to the
point than other types of writing. Keep your statements brief and on topic.